The Zero

I had to hurry to finish this one since it's due back at the library today. Turned out I didn't really have to force myself into anything, as I just kept turning the pages until I was done.
I'm giving this one five stars, but I don't think that everyone would necessarily like it, or get it. It's about the aftermath of 9/11 (without specifically mentioning the event, and only referring to Ground Zero as "The Zero"), and I thought Jess Walter deftly handled the subject matter. He wrote a novel that provides keen insight into how people were affected by the events of that day, without being exploitative. It's also a bit confusing because the main character experiences "gaps" in his memory, which makes it difficult to follow at times. But in the end, I found that the characters represented many of the prevailing sentiments following 9/11: the heroic police officers (including some who cashed in on their temporary fame), the people who lost loved ones, the government agencies and their responses and turf wars, and those who just didn't, and in some ways still don't, know how to feel about the whole thing.
Good stuff, definitely recommended reading.
Next up is The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier (assuming I can snag it at the library tonight).